Wassup?

Two Ships in the Night

When the crew discovers just how badly John's trust in the aliens was misplaced, they resume the fight to save their Leviathan; now it will take all of them, even Jool and her lungpower, to pull the fat out of the fire. As their efforts reach the final critical moments, Zhaan meets a difficult challenge with grace, but her choice takes a terrible toll on John's faith in himself.

Backstory

Based on the Stooges image John recorded out in the wormhole, some portion of the wormhole must be no more than 40 lightyears from earth.

Phaztillon generators alter the phase physicality of an object; they can render someone invisible.

Moya actually can tolerate being in a wormhole better than the crew realized; many of her difficulties were actually being caused by Neeyala's crew.

Moya regulates temperature using thermal condensors.

Aeryn is sure John is still talking to Scorpius in his mind.

Both halves of the crew decide to isolate the nexus points from Moya's main systems, hoping that by taking the nexus circuits offline and watching for them to blow, the crew can track the invisible attacker's progress.

Jool sheds hair.

Being in the wormhold 'fried' the organic modifications on John's module; the fried parts drip, in the hangar bay.

D'argo has gained access to the small ship they picked up in Suns and Lovers. The ship feels familiar to him. It has its own forcefield, and is able to emit some sort of green laser lights.

When John shot at the serpent in Pilot's Den, he apparently also hit the invisible Researcher Shreena. The serpent then consumed part of her remains.

Zhaan's spiritual control is slipping as she weakens. When the aliens' betrayal is confirmed, she briefly goes insane (complete with red eyes), then regains control with Aeryn's assistance.

Aeryn still questions her right to be alive, especially at Zhaan's expense.

At the time she and her cousins were frozen, Jool was on a multicivilization tour for her birthday, but had barely made it through the first stop.

For the aliens, the privilege of working with technology is guaranteed by their families, who will be executed if the ship fails to return.

DRDs can emit laser light, allowing the tracking of invisible adversaries by watching for disruption of the beams.

The bristles, or needles, which the aliens project, have a numbing effect initially, but can prove fatal if not treated.

The phaztillon generator shuts down after completing optimization phase; once activated, the power cell will engorge one final time, leaving less than an arn until the unit is activated. At this stage, the ships share phasality with the serpent on a constant, rather than intermittant, basis.

Starburst can redirect Moya into the wormhole, overcoming Neeyala's plan to throw the Leviathan through the wormhole wall into normal space.

Zhaan is able to use Shreena's spines to create an antibody serum.

When Zhaan was first a prisoner on Moya, she heard that there was a Luxan aboard, and prayed that he would succomb to hyperrage and kill her.

According to Stark, Pilot likes Rygel.

Moya's internal airtights are giving way; the crew uses her air bladders to back-pressure the hatches.

Activation of the new ship's defense screen can sever the serpent's body.

While the access route to Pilot's Den suffered decompression at several points, the Den itself retained a thin, breathable atmosphere.

When John talks to Harvey, he apparently chooses the venues, even if subconsciously; however, Harvey is able to affect some of the elements within that venue, such as clothing choices.

John once hitchhiked to Lauderdale to see strippers, over a college Spring Break. He stopped enroute at a truckstop in Macon, Georgia.

Harvey has regained some of his strength, and John may not be able to keep him under control any more. John has not formally conceded this situation yet.

Harvey knows the depth of John's disappointment, at letting Neeyala's ship being destroyed.

John once owned a green Chevy truck.

An unconscious Pilot can be brought round, at least temporarily, by increasing his flow of adrenal secretions and applying physical stimulation (in this case, via Aeryn's kicking him).

The blast from a pulse pistol will ignite ion-charged hydrostatic vapor residue, in atmospheric suspension.

Neeyala is not impressed by the depth of the crew's knowledge, but states that it is still greater than that of any other species she's encountered.

Neeyala infused her ship's emergency beacon into Moya's superstructure, through their shared hull, and claims that her species will track it down, even if her ship is destroyed.

Neeyala claims that she has never before released her bristles to kill.

Jool's scream melts the metalline tips of Neeyala's bristles.

Jool recognizes the control panel of Neeyala's ship as a "diagnostical helix, the mathematical representation of quantum elasticity".

Impulse data from tests of the phaztillon generator was stored in Moya's neural circuitry, allowing Pilot to construct a statistical model.

Initiating starburst seven microts after the generator is unleashed, will tip Moya into the wormhole rather than expelling her through the wall into normal space. Moya's mass gives her an advantage over Neeyala's ship, during this process.

Pilot is capable of tears.

Zhaan's spirit apparently leaves Neeyala's ship as it is destroyed, then vanishes in a swirl of golden light.

Zhaan came to Pilot in his mind, while he was unconscious.

Stark says he has witnessed 15000 deaths.

Zhaan was completely at peace when she met her death.

Reactions

Questions

Why does Jool shed?

Harvey demonstrates here that he has gleaned quite a lot of cultural context from John's mind (for example, when he clothes them in tuxedos). Why then does he have to watch and mimic John in trying to hitch a ride from the passing Chevy? Are there still parts of John's mind that he hasn't explored?

How does Aeryn get control of the ship, once they are flung into the wormhole? One moment she and the rest of the crew are being tossed around like toothpicks; the next, all is under control.

Does Rygel really like Pilot, or is he just trying to ingratiate himself? What does Pilot think?

Stark says he has witnessed 15000 deaths. Does this figure include the 10000 Banik slaves killed in Liars, Guns and Money?

Was there any special significance to seeing Zhaan's face in her mirror, as John sits alone in her quarters?

When John smashes his beer bottle in the closing moments, does he get Harvey in the face with his elbow, too?

Observations

The crew breaks with an interesting division, to plan their counterattack on the aliens. John is apparently now lumped in with Chiana and Rygel, with regard to trustworthiness and sound judgement. The cutting from one team to the other was wonderful, in the way it highlighted how their thought processes were still in synch, leading to the same results.

D'Argo appears to have laid claim to the new ship they picked up.

John seems to blame himself (both outright and through Harvey) for much of the disaster in this storyline:

"John Crichton was riveting in the role of cheerleader, rallying his comrades in the aid of the stricken ship he had earlier betrayed--"

"Aeryn, do you see this disco? I put it here, I'm going to take it away."

"Why is it always the gentle ones, that pay the price for everyone else's ambition?"

and his crewmates appear happy to go along with him:

"There's no way I can get to Pilot. Your excuses have failed him again, John."

As John says to Neeyala, "I trusted you," Aeryn grimaces and turns away. A moment later, she's dwelling once more on John's wormhole fixation:

In the end, after they've survived their ordeal, John is left totally alone -- Rygel is with Pilot, Aeryn is with Stark, Chiana is with Jool, and D'Argo is communing with his new ship. John seems to have no one to turn to for comfort in his grief, other than Harvey. This was particularly highlighted by putting John and Harvey back at the drive-in, watching the Stooges, with John in a dark suit appropriate for a funeral.

Even as John's relationship with his crewmates is being strained, the crew as a whole seems to bond more tightly together as a unified team. When Aeryn calls for the group decision, every member immediately yells, "Go!" without hesitation. John likens Moya to the crew's parent, and D'Argo credits Zhaan for creating their 'family'.

Chiana has come a long way; she tells Jool that Zhaan was one of her "very, very best friends."

The chiming in Zhaan's quarters sounded like both a clock tolling, and the crystals she used in portions of her Seek. It was a lovely effect.

Bloopers

As Moya plunges through the wormhole, out of control, we hear a dive-bombing sound -- not exactly what you should hear in space, without an atmosphere around your vessel.

Continuity: John tucks the comms into the cleavage of Jool's bustier, but as she stands a moment later, it's nowhere to be seen. However, it's back when John comms her for a status report on the generator.

Annotations

John: "I'm telling you, Aeryn. It was from Earth. A television transmission."
Aeryn: "What, you mean that Yoda from Dagobah?"
John: "No no no no. The Three Stooges."

Aeryn obviously remembers John talking about the STAR WARS series' Jedi Master back in "I, E.T.".

See below for Stooges annotation.

John: "Yo! Both of you! Even if Mr. Wiggles did chew on that guy, there was no one here."

"Mr. Wiggles" is one of various euphemisms for a particular part of the male anatomy. There's an on-line comic strip (not for the faint of heart) called "Rehabilitating Mister Wiggles", but it's not likely to be a source for Crichton's remark, except in that it probably also gets its title from the aforementioned euphemism.

John: "Look, Princess, I know that this trip to Krugerland was not on your itinerary, but believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel."

"Krugerland" is a nickname for the Republic of South Africa, presumably deriving from S.J.P. "Oom Paul" Kruger, the first president of Transvaal, a Boer state which later formed part of the Republic (nee Union) of South Africa. This, of course, wouldn't explain why Crichton makes that particular reference...

A snide reference to the United Federation of Planets' fleet of starships from STAR TREK.

The Three Stooges short that plays at John's mental drive-in is "Disorder in the Court", the 15th (of 190) Stooges short from Columbia, released in May 1936.

This is one of several early Stooges shorts that are in the Public Domain, which is undoubtedly why it was used in this FARSCAPE episode, as well as why it's available on several tape and DVD collections of Stooges shorts. One can download a Media Player version of it from the web.

Translator Microbe Report

Adrenal secretions

Moya's version of andrenaline

Air bladders

component of Moya's infrastructure which can be used to back-pressure her airtight seals

Beersian alloy

a particularly strong substance: "Will is a poor substitute for beersian alloy."

Chanu

a deity: "Dear Chanu, please don't let me die this way." (Interion)

Deka

designation of the restricted frequency for comms on Moya (possible variant of dekka)

Diagnostical helix

the mathematical representation of quantum elasticity

Federation Starship S.S. Buttcrack

Crichton's nickname for Moya

Gill darts

poison-bearing spines that Neeyala's species can shoot from gills on the sides of their heads

Hatale, Hatala

names invoked by Zhaan in her prayers for Pilot's life

Internal airtights

Moya's atmospheric seals

Ion-charged hydrostatic vapor residue

a highly flammable substance when in atmospheric suspension; it can be ignited by a pulse pistol blast

Krell

analogous to cool or excellent: "Very krell, D'Argo."

Mr. Wiggles

John's nickname for the serpent

Neural circuitry

Moya's memory

Phase physicality

one of the things a phaztillon generator can alter

Princess

Crichton's nickname for Jool

Quellian tibor

a species with mating spikes, consisting of a pliable root, tensile fiber stalk, and metalline venom tip

Restricted frequency

protected mode for Moya's comms

Tea Lady

Crichton's nickname for Neeyala

Thermal condensors

portion of Moya used to regulate temperature

Upper claw

upper hand: "They have the upper claw." (Hynerian)

Quotables

"Winona, don't fail me now!" - John Crichton

"Do you know what this means?"
"No, I don't."
"It means that some part of this wormhole is 10, 20, 30, 40 lightyears, at most, away from earth. It's doable. I can get home."
"Amidst our misfortune, I'm pleased for you, John."
"Yes...I know. Selfish. ...Forget it."- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Zhaan

"And what if they are screwing us?"
"Especially if they've screwed us. Means they have the upper claw."- John Crichton, Rygel

"What is this?"
"She sheds."- Aeryn Sun, Stark

"Formulating ideas...well, here's an idea: since we know nothing about this ship, how 'bout you stop pushing buttons?" - John Crichton

"Do you know what troubles me the most? I did my best...I did the best I could, and it wasn't enough. I still lost them both."
"My grandmother used to say, that...life is...a great wheel. Sometimes it grinds you down into the mud, and other times it lifts you up into the light."
"Are we strapped to this wheel?"
"That's a given. Point is, is that most times you get a second chance -- you just gotta wait for the wheel."- D'Argo, John Crichton

"It was a bad trade, Zhaan, your health for mine."
"Don't undervalue yourself."
"I'm just a soldier."
"Don't underestimate yourself."
"I'm being realistic."
"Don't be afraid to understand yourself. We're not as different as you assume. Violent past, no faith in the future, and then a transformative experience aboard this very ship. My time grows short, and yours stretches before you. Use it wisely."- Aeryn Sun, Zhaan

"Great, just great. I take a multi-civilization tour for my birthday and barely make it through the first stop. I lose my deposit. My cousins get murdered. I've been frozen for 22 cycles. I've been captured by degenerate aliens, attacked by a huge serpent's --"
"Dead. All of us, dead. My love, dead. My dreams, dead. You dead. Me dead. You dead, me dead, you dead, me dead, you dead, me dead! Your list is short, and unworthy of entree to this ship of horror, tortured by demons you can never know, mocked by love that will never be! Oh, you want to cry, young creature? I will show you something that will make you cry, forever."- Jool, Stark

"Look, princess, I know that this trip to Kruegerland was not on your itinerary, but believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel." - John Crichton

"Then why did I survive?"
"I don't know. You're not sick. Maybe they shanghaied you for body parts. You're the freebie."
"Everything I have seen so far is despicable."
"Welcome, to the Federation Starship S.S. Buttcrack!"- Jool, John Crichton

"Go on, keep moving, I got a plan."
"Don't tell me you have a plan!"
"What's wrong with them?"
"They never work!"
"Damn these doors... They always work!"
"Not the way you detail them."
"Hey, look, I get results, you're hung up on details!"
"Your plans never work!"- John Crichton, Aeryn Sun

"How did this ship get open?"
[...]
"D'Argo rubbed the damn thing, now get in!"- Aeryn Sun, John Crichton

"There's no way I can get to Pilot. Your excuses have failed him again, John." - Zhaan

"I beseech your wisdom. Hatale, I entreat your spirit... Hatala, I petition your mercy... The gentle are stricken, the kind are helpless, the silent uncounted. Even as a tenth level Pa'u, I am weary and without resources. Oh, Goddess of all things holy, hear my soul. This gentle ship is pledged to my care and I am powerless. Though I am but a mote upon your winds, grant me one supplication. Ask anything in return. Just spare them their lives." - Zhaan

"John, why is this ship so important?"
"You still worried about your parents after 22 cycles?"
"Yes"
"That's how we feel about Moya...she raised us."- Jool, John Crichton

"Bravo, bravo! Magnificent! Encore, encore, John! John Crichton was riveting in the role of cheerleader, rallying his comrades in the aid of the stricken ship he had earlier betrayed --" - Harvey

"You choose the venues but I'm going to make sure we look good, yeahhh!" - Harvey

"Hey, yo, yo, no...you do not enter my reality! You do not talk to me, in my reality! If I want you, I'll call! Those are the rules!"
"Unacceptable. And I suggest you sue for peace now. Your distractions are many, while I'm totally dedicated to gaining a measure of freedom. No more dumpsters, John."
"Tabled."- John Crichton, Harvey

"You might fool them with your rah-rah, but I know the disappointment of letting Neeyala's ship being destroyed."
"Yeah, well you can't have everything you want. I'll figure out wormholes by myself."- John Crichton, Harvey

"Oh, you know everything about me. You want to make a point?"
"Excellent, excellent, yes...and with familiarity, we might develop a shorthand which will benefit us both."- John Crichton, Harvey

"Aeryn, do you see this disco? I put it here, I'm going to take it away." - John Crichton

"So, while I'm still sound of mind and spirit, I choose this path for myself."
"You are needed here."
"At one time I believe I was...but then a family was born."
"You birthed it."- Zhaan, D'Argo

"For the longest time I feared physical demise, because my spiritual essence was suspect. But now I know I'm worthy...now I know the transgressions have melted from my soul. Now I know I shall meet my Goddess and be accepted to her bosom. Sensitive D'Argo, exhuberant Chiana, wise Rygel, selfless Aeryn, innocent Crichton. My children, my teachers, my loves -- there is no guilt, there is no blame, only what is meant to be. Grow through your mistakes, and know that if patient, redemption will find you."
"Wait for the wheel."
"Thank you, John Crichton."- Zhaan, John Crichton

"Do you know how much these shoes cost, young whore?"
"For me, three sex acts. Probably double that for you."
"You have some nerve to talk to me that way."
"One of my very, very best friends has just gone. Right now, I am, I am nothing but nerve. You want someone to like you? Invest in a mirror."- Jool, Chiana

"Imagine being so at peace, so certain that what was next, was better. She does not want us upset. She wants us to carry on in her spirit, positive and hopeful."
"And you can do that?"
"Not always. I would appreciate you hovering, then."- Stark, Aeryn Sun

"Why is it always the gentle ones, that pay the price for everyone else's ambition? Hmm?" - Harvey

Moderator: <shokoti> to <Moderator>: And I have another question... Stark and Zhaan have great on-screen chemistry, and I loved their interactions. Did you and Virginia have good chemistry off-screen too?

PaulGoddard: I'm glad you asked me that shokoti.PaulGoddard: I'm pleased that you think there was on screen chemistry. Sorry to say we weren't entwined romantically in real life.PaulGoddard: We worked hard to develop a great working rapour and did spend a good deal of time rehersing the scenes together and trying to establish a bond and connection on screenPaulGoddard: It was a great pleasure working with and off Virginia.

Moderator: <StaRMS-JennHi> to <Moderator>: Hello, Paul! Jennhi of the Stark Raving Mad Society here (StaRMS.org). In almost every episode that has Stark, you have at least one scene where he just goes wild. We at StaRMS call it a "Stark Moment". It's fabulous! How much of that is scripted, and how much is improvised?

PaulGoddard: Well Jennhi (love the idea of a SRM Society), do you realise that Stark is of the Raving Mads. It is my belief that there is a long line of Raving Mads who have an illustrious and noble past.PaulGoddard: The words are carefully scripted, I may add a few here and there as we do, but I guess what I do with them is where sense of play and improv comes in.PaulGoddard: When Stark returned in the second season it was my concern that the feigned madness from the first series would go, leaving Stark with just his calm spiritual side.PaulGoddard: What I thought was fantastic about the character was the polarity.PaulGoddard: The writers were keen to keep both elements and for a while we played up the craziness.PaulGoddard: But when the idea of Zhaan and Stark getting together was muted, Virginia said one day, when Stark was being particularly demented. Oh my God! Zhaan gets together with that! or something along those lines and I thought.. she's quite right.PaulGoddard: I have to find the part of Stark that Zhaan would respond to positively and make him more that man when he is with her.PaulGoddard: So Zhaan came to have a calming effect on him and he became someone who when, with her, was a more attractive mate.PaulGoddard: When she died, I took that a cue for Stark through grief and through losing his "better half" to regress into a less stable state.

Moderator: <stargatetravler> to <Moderator>: Hey Paul, which ep of the ones you have been in did you have the most fun doing, which one was the hardiest and which one was your favorite?

PaulGoddard: Episode 8 coming up has been my all time favourite. Green Eyed Monster.PaulGoddard: You'll understand why when you see it.PaulGoddard: Of the ones you have seen which was the hardest???PaulGoddard: hrm....PaulGoddard: I guess the ones that are hard are the ones where there is some degree of emotion other than anger or fear that has to be explored. PaulGoddard: The early episodes of this Season where Stark is dealing with Zhaan's death were tricky in regards to emotional placement.PaulGoddard: You don't want to get too sentimental in the playing of it, you want the audience to feel the emotion more than you displaying it as an actor.PaulGoddard: I hope you understand what I mean.PaulGoddard: There is nothing worse, for me, than watching an actor indulge in some emotional acting to the degree where they don't let you in.PaulGoddard: So many times I've watched documentaries where people have talked about the most horrific and tragic things without turning into a blubbering mess. Yet you know, that underneath they are experiencing deep pain.

Moderator: <accapella> to <Moderator>: My question: Can you shed a little insight on the moment in "Wait for the Wheel" when Stark looks at Aeryn and says "You are very pretty." - What's going on there???

PaulGoddard: We spent quite a bit of time on that moment trying to figure out how to play it and what it meant. I don't want to say that there is a definative meaning to it after all the construction of meaning is in the eye of the beholder and we wanted there to be some ambiguity.PaulGoddard: We also wanted to give ourselves the option to go in a number of directions.

Moderator: <Cush> to <Moderator>: Was Jool's design inspired by any one "thing or person" Or did you just have create someting that was "human like"?

DaveE: [...] Jool's conception was interesting. it was kind of a difficult birth. I did a design very early on of what she pretty much turned out to be, except that she had bright red hair. DaveE: Normally, that would have ended up on the screen, but because of the importance of the character, Andrew Prowse and Tony Winley - the producer - really wanted to get it right.DaveE: And, they felt that she should be that kind of gingery blond that she appears as most of the time on the show.DaveE: I resisted for a while until David Kemper stepped in, angel that he is, and creative genius, and said, hey why don't we make her have the ability to change her hair colour whenever she has a mood swing.DaveE: And so everybody was happy!!DaveE: I should say by the way that much of the credit for Jool should go to Jen Lamphee, head of make-up, who actaully applies the make-up on a day to day basis.DaveE: My involvment is actually quite small with this character, we just hand over the appliances and I trust her implicitly to make any changes she may want to.